Dissertation Defense Announcement
To:  The George Mason University Community

Candidate: Olukemi Ifeonu

Program: PhD in Bioinformatics & Computational Biology



Date:   Wednesday April 19, 2017

Time:   1:00 PM
Place:  George Mason University
             Science & Tech campus

             Bull Run Hall, Room 257


Title: "Genomic Resources for Cryptosporidium Species, Human Pathogens of Public Health Significance in Developing Countries"
Dissertation director: Dr. Iosif Vaisman
Committee members: Dr. Joana C. Silva, Dr. Donald Seto

All are invited to attend the defense.
ABSTRACT:
Cryptosporidium species are intracellular protozoan parasites, members of the phylum Apicomplexa, which can infect the intestinal or gastric epithelial tissue of vertebrates, causing diarrhea. In immunocompromised individuals and young children, cryptosporidiosis can be life-threatening. Cryptosporidium was recently identified as a major cause of diarrhea-induced death of young children in developing countries. Despite the immense public health impact of Cryptosporidium infections in developing countries, no significant progress has been made towards developing a vaccine. Biological and technical challenges have impeded traditional vaccinology approaches to identify novel targets for the development of vaccines against this pathogen. The availability of genomic resources for multiple species in the genus has the potential to make a reverse vaccinology approach feasible. This dissertation describes new genomic tools and resources that should prove a valuable resource for the Cryptosporidium research community. This includes the annotated draft genome sequences of three species of Cryptosporidium, the Cryptosporidium hominis Gene Catalog, and the genome of a strain of anthroponotic Cryptosporidium parvum, and its analysis.
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